Temper and Attitude, The Explosive Duo
by xXxChasingStarsxXx
Summary: Fire Nation Royalty, honor, love, an alluringly attractive blue masked man, his terrifying sister, her intolerance of said sister , and the eternal question…is love supposed to hurt…THIS bad? What happens when you have to chose? Friend or Lover? ZukoxOC
1. I'm Leaving

"_**Three red Dragons, flying trough the sky, the children wave as they drift on by!" A group of children sang, holding hands tightly and running in a circle. The ocean water on the shore of Ember Island lapped at their feet playfully.**_

"_**One Dragon looks, and makes a frown, one big blast and the children fall down!" They chanted, letting go of each others hands and falling back. The landed in the soft white sand, giggling and looking up at the cloudless blue sky.**_

_**Those where the good days…**_

"_**I only had the Fire Nations best interest at heart! I did not mean to be disrespectful. I will not fight you."**_

"_**YOU WILL FIGHT!"**_

"_**Father, I am your humble son! I will not fight!"**_

"_**You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."**_

_**I gripped onto Iroh tightly, hiding my tear stained face in his war uniform. He shifted us so that we weren't able to see father and son, in the last moments of an unforgettable Agni Kai. **_

"_**Father! NOO!"**_

**I sat up, startled. My sheets and clothes clung to my body, held there by cold sweat. I looked around the Fire Nation war ship, eyes lingering on the tapestry with our Nations symbol on it. Just a dream. No. Not a dream, a memory. One I'd like to forget. I threw the blanket off, slipping out of bed. I slipped on a robe and may my way to the deck. The ship swayed slightly beneath my feet is it rocked gently in the water. The moon was at it's full, illuminating the sea with it's soft white rays. I sighed and leaned against the railing, staring out at the vast nothingness. My dark brown hair swirled in the salty breeze, obscuring most of my peripheral vision, which explains why I didn't see Iroh a few feet away.**

"**Cannot sleep, Princess?" He asked. I jumped at his question.**

"**Iroh!" I gasped, clutching my chest over my heart.**

"**Kiminari. So, sleep won't come." He said, bowing and answering his own question. I chuckled.**

"**Not anymore. You?"**

"**I fancied some midnight tea. Would you care to join me?"**

"**As if there was anything else to do on this godforsaken ship." I mumbled, following him inside, into the galley.**

"**Don't let Zuko hear you say that." Iroh chuckled, lighting the fire with a flick of his finger.**

"**Phff, Zuko can kiss my-" I was cut off.**

"**Kiminari, I suggest you don't." The all to familiar voice said from behind me. I cringed, and turned around slowly to see the Prince of the North Fire Nation Kingdom, glaring and dangerous.**

"**So sorry your **_**highness**_**." I chuckled sarcastically. Zuko huffed, blowing fire out his nostrils. "Oh, wow. Haven't see you do **_**that one **_**a million times." **

"**Kiminari." Iroh warned. "Zuko, cannot sleep?"**

"**No." He mumbled, sitting down beside me.**

"**OH! The tea leaves! I'll be right back!" Iroh said, hurrying out of the galley. Zuko and I sat in a silence so thick you could burn it. Both of us starred straight forward.**

"**You had it again, didn't you?" I asked him. He stiffened.**

"**That's none of your business." He coughed.**

"**Considering the fact that **_**I**_** still have the nightmares about that day, I'm making it my business." I said, looking away from the fire and at to the boy beside me.**

"**Yeah. I had the dream again." He mumbled. I nodded, deciding not to press him for more. What I didn't expect though, was for him to go on. "I don't know why this is happening." He yelled silently, eyes still transfixed on the flame heating up the tea water. I had a feeling he was talking more to himself than to me.**

"**Ours is a world where people don't know what they want, and are wiling to go through hell to get it." I told him, petting his shoulder.**

"**My father wants the best for the Fire Nation!" He yelled, shaking my hand off. I sighed. **

"**Only you would be stupid enough to not understand what I'm saying." I grumbled. He obviously didn't understand that I was talking about his failing search for the Avatar.**

"**I am NOT stupid! You've spend too much time with Uncle, and now your talking in riddles!" Zuko said, glaring at me. Both of us stood, feet in fighting positions.**

"**Who else was I supposed to spend time with? You?!" I yelled back, jutting my index finger into his chest. "If I remember correctly, you've spent every waking moment obsessing over the Avatar, who's supposed to restore your honor, and from your father the respect you never even had!" **

"**He will respect me! The Avatar is the greatest threat to the Fire Nation, if I capture him, we'll be unstoppable!" He said, but his hands bawled into fists at his sides. "My father is only doing what's best." He added quietly.**

"**You give him too much credit, Zuko." I sighed. Iroh danced back into the galley, waving tea leaves over his head.**

"**Kiminari! I found your favo- oh." He stopped by the door. Zuko sat back down.**

"**I'm not thirsty anymore." I mumbled, sliding past Iroh and out of the room.**

"**Zuko, what did you do?" Iroh asked his nephew.**

"_**I**_** didn't do anything." He yelled.**

**It was probably around three a.m. when Zuko's door slammed shut. I sat up in bed. I should probably go apologize. Nah, it was his fault. He's been the one ignoring the feelings of the people around him and ordering them around like dogs, and I guess I just…snapped. Honestly, I can't take this much longer. But he was my "**_**friend**_". You'd think being out at sea with him for two years would bring us closer, but instead it drove us apart. Iroh and I had been by his side since he was banished, and had witnessed his Agni Kai. I shuddered. I had seen death, lots of it, but the day Zuko got his scar was one of the worst things I had witnessed in my entire life. I shuffled out from under my sheets for the second time that night, creeping down the hall to the Prince's quarters. I opened his door a crack and peeked in. He was in his bed, but was he really sleeping? He was one to fake such things. 

"Zuko?" I said, prodding him on the shoulder with my toe.

"Scar face! Oi!" His eyes snapped open.

"WHAT?" He demanded. 

"Well, I DID come to apologize, but seeing as your not in the mood…" I trailed off, turning my back to him.

"And you say I'M annoying. Your absolutely no help at all! Maybe I would have found the Avatar if you weren't slowing us down! Why don't you just go back to the South Nation, and leave me alone?" He snapped. My eyes widened in shock. For as long as I can remember, we were always arguing, but he had never been so…angry, and never told me to go back home. So, caught by surprise, I reacted by instinct. Truth.

"You ungrateful little- I can't even think of a bad enough word!" I yelled, kicking him out of his futon. The tapestry behind me burst into flame. "All you are is a banished prince, with no honor, no clue were the stinkin' Avatar is, and as of now, no friends! I've spent the last two years helping you look for some old geezer so that your father would look you in the face again and _this_ is how you thank me? I could be in the South Fire Nation right now, sitting back and enjoying being a princess, but I'm in the middle of an ocean somewhere because I was stupid enough to want what's best for my best fri- you!" I finished my rant, panting quietly. He stared up at me from the floor.

"What are you?" He sneered. "One of the three crown jewels of the South Nation? Daughter of the Fire King? Do I have to remind you that my father is more powerful than him?" I can't believe what I'm hearing. 

"That doesn't matter, Zuko, _**you**_ and _**I**_ are the same rank." I hissed. He didn't have a reply to this. Zuko was so… infuriating. I'd put up with it for two years, but my patience was running out. I was surprised it lasted this long. "You have no idea how much you've changed." I muttered, backing away from him. "Not for the better, either. I'll be off your ship by the time you wake tomorrow."

The sun had started to rise as I finished pulling on my Fire Nation armor. I pulled my bangs back and clipped them out of my face. I shoved the last of my things in a bag and sling in over my shoulder, slamming the door open and marching out onto the deck. 

"Your still here." I didn't even bother to look behind me.

"Go back to sleep then." I snapped, pulling myself onto the railing.

"What are you doing?" Zuko asked.

"Leaving."

"We're in the middle of the ocean! What do you mean 'leaving'? Swimming?" 

"Don't be stupid Zuko." I sneered, throwing my bag down into the small boat Zuko couldn't see. A hand wrapped around my forearm, pulling me back onto the war ship.

"What can I do to make you stay?" He sighed.

"Jump over the edge and drown yourself." I snapped, pulling my arm free. He grabbed the other.

"Kiminari, I'm serious. Your dad would kill me if I made you get off here." Zuko said. 

"So you only want me to stay so you won't get yelled at? Your so annoying! Always saving your own skin."

"That's no it. I'm sorry for being an idiot yesterday." He said, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

"Yeah, you were an idiot." I said thoughtfully, he just nodded so I continued. "And your head looks like an egg. And these uniforms make you look short. And you frown too much. And people blowing steam out their nostrils is really not attractive at all. And-"

"Let's not over do it, alright?" He hissed.

"Seize the moment." I chuckled.

"So your not leaving?" He asked.

"Of course I'm still leaving!" I snorted, puling my arm free again.

"Kimin-…." He trailed off, starring at something over my head in awe.

"What?" I snapped, turning around. My annoyed expression soon matched his of surprise. A bright light had just shot into the air.

"Uncle!" Zuko yelled to Iroh, who had just emerged from inside. "Is that…?"

"It can only be…" Iroh gasped.

"The Avatar." I whispered.

* * *

Please review! I want to see what people think about this before going on.


	2. This Is What Happens

"Men, head towards that light!" Zuko yelled, running towards the bow. "He's mine." He said. I made haste in pulling my things back onto the ship and into my room. Leaving was gonna have to wait.

* * *

"KIMINARI! Where the hell are you?!" Zuko screamed.

"What?" I snapped in the general direction of his voice. He rounded the corned, fire shooting out of his nostrils.

"What are you doing here? Your supposed to be coming with us!" He growled.

"I though I was- oh, what was it?- Oh yeah, NO HELP." I sneered, crossing my arms and leaning against the wall of the ship.

"Stop being so dramatic and get your ass down there!" he snapped.

"Was that an order?" I asked, standing upright and getting in his face.

"It is." He spat. I backed off, grabbing my war helmet off the floor, and marching down to the bow, where the ships drawbridge would be lowered. I only did this, of course, because it was **his** ship, and for no other reason. He smirked in triumph, putting on his own helmet and standing beside me at the front of the group. Almost as soon as we had stepped onto the iceberg these peasants called home, some lunatic with a boomerang came running towards us, screaming and flailing the toy above his head. Zuko make quick work of him, sending him flying back.

"Where is the Avatar?" The Prince demanded. The water tribe village looked at him in confusion. He stepped forward and grabbed an elderly woman, shaking her back and forth. "He'd be about this old, master of all four elements?" He said. Boomerang boy came back, lashing out at Zuko, who once again sent him flying back. The guy threw his Boomerang, and Zuko, dodging it, glared at him and shoved him down into the snow. The toy came back and smacked Zuko in the back of the head, crooking his helmet. I chuckled-loudly, may I add-because one, Zuko deserved it, two, I was angry at him, and three, because I could without any serious punishment, if any at all.

"Restrain him." Zuko spat. I grabbed Boomerang Guy by the wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, placing my free hand at his throat, producing a flame that was large enough to be a threat, but not enough to burn. Yet. And as if a guy with make up and a Boomerang wasn't weir enough, a bald kid with Air Nomad apparel and tattoo's slid in between the villagers and us on a penguin.

"If I go with you, will you leave them alone?" He said.

"You're the Avatar?" Zuko asked, genuine surprise and disbelief in his voice. The kid nodded.

"He's an Airbender." I murmured to Zuko.

"Your just a kid!" He yelled.

"Well, your just a teenager." The boy said.

"Oh, touché." I said, earning a well deserved glare from His-Royal-Pain-In-The-Butt.

"Thanks for coming, Aang." The guy I was holding said.

"Shut up, Boomerang guy." I snapped, fueling my flame.

"Shutting." He whimpered, as the fire's hungry flames almost licked his neck. There was a little squabble between Zuko and the Avatar, which I missed because I was dodging a water benders clumsy strikes, pulling Boomerang Guy in the way so she was forced to stop.

"If you come with us, we'll leave these people alone." Zuko agreed with the Avatar. The boy stood up and wobbled over, and two guards automatically grabbed him by the arms and hauled him onto the war ship. I shoved my captive onto the snow.

"Hey, kid." I called over my shoulder to the Boomerang guy. "Smudged your make up." I smirked.

"It's war paint!" He yelled.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." I chuckled. His reply was muffled as the hull closed. Zuko had the Avatars staff removed and sent him into a cell straight away. I walked after the guards casually. I was curious to see what this 'Avatar' was like.

"Where do _you_ think your going?" Busted.

"Leaving." I lied. Zuko snorted.

"You can't be serious! We finally capture the Avatar, and now your leaving? What's wrong with you, woman?!" I ignored his sass, grabbing my stuff from my room and slinging it over my shoulder. "Don't make me do this." Zuko warned.

"Do what?" I asked, walking out onto the deck.

"Men, apprehend the Princess." He ordered. I froze.

"Fine." I snapped, marching back into my quarter and throwing my stuff on the ground.

"That's more like it." He smirked. We walked out to the deck. "Oh, it's training time." He said, calling out to Iroh as well.

"More like watch-Zuko-fail-repeatedly-then-get-really-worked-up-and-blow-fire-out-his-nose time." I chuckled. He stopped dead in his tracks, and I bumped into his back.

"What gives?" I snapped. I half expected him to round on me and get angry with my comment, and then I saw it. A HUGE flying bison, headed straight for the ship. We looked at each other in horror.

"The Avatar!" We said in unison, running back into the ship. We sprinted down the hall to his cell.

"Lure him to my room!" Zuko said. I nodded, and we turned down separate hallways. There were muffled thumps, and a soldier crashed into a wall from around the corner. The Avatar ran around at full speed, knocking me on my back. We rolled down the hall, him trying to bend me off, and me holding on stubbornly. I managed to kick him into a wall, and he doubled over, giving me a chance to shove him into the hall Zuko's room was in. I sent a steady stream of fire after him, forcing him to move back. He waved his hand, sending me crashing into the ceiling. My war helmet-that I had neglected to remove-fell off, my brown hair covering my face. Disadvantage. I pushed them back hurriedly.

"You're a girl!" He said, surprised.

"Good, Avatar! You can tell the difference between a man and a woman. Next, lets play a game called "when you catch fire"!" I said, bending more flames in his direction. He did some weird hand gestures, and a ball of air, zoomed past me, shoving me-upside down-into Zuko's door and crashing inside, against the far wall. I groaned and fell to the floor.

"There's my staff!" The Airbender said, stepping into the room. Success.

"I've underestimated you, Avatar." Zuko said, closing the door. He shoot fire out of his first, and the little monk rode around the room on a ball of air, similar to the one that knocked me down. I slashed out a foot, sending him sprawling on the floor. He was up in seconds. I was to close to Zuko to bend, and he obviously felt the same way about me, seeing as we were trying to get him with our fists and feet now. The Avatar dodged my punch, and Zuko received it in the jaw, wile at the same time, the Airbender had dodged Zuko's roundhouse kick, that got me in the stomach. Both of use fell onto Zuko's futon, and the Avatar smashed us against the wall and ceiling before making a break for it. I groaned and rolled off, standing shakily and going after him. Zuko was already hot on his heals aiming fire balls at the Avatars back-no pun intended. Once I had stumbled out onto the deck, the Avatar was surrounded by a whirlpool of water, his eyes and tattoo's glowing. I starred in awe, that was quickly replaced with that **crap, **_**really**_**?** expression when it smashed us all off the ship. Before I hit the water, I caught sight of an explosion and balls of fire being thrown at the bison. Water entered my lungs by accident, and I swam up sputtering, grabbing on to the first thing, the ladder on the side of the ship-thank God. I coughed as I held out a hand, letting Zuko help me up. I continued coughing, trying to get all the water out of my lungs.

"Duck!" Someone shouted. Zuko grabbed the back of my head and shoved me down on the deck-hitting my face against the METAL, may I add-and moved his body over mine in a protective gesture as an avalanche of snow covered our half of the ship. He bended us out and helped me up.

"You okay?" He asked. You could tell it was forced, and he was very VERY angry.

"Fine." I gasped between coughs. Zuko ordered the soldiers to fix the ship as fast as possible so we could follow the Avatar.

"Prince Zuko, we're going to have to make port." One of the braver souls told him.

"THEN DO IT FAST!" He screamed, bending his way though the snow and into the ship.

* * *

I knocked on Zuko's door hesitantly.

"I don't want any tea!" He snapped.

"Uhm, it's me." I said nervously.

"Come in." He sighed. I peeked my head into his room, smiling sheepishly. Zuko was sitting on his futon, looking at a map. "Well?" He asked.

"Well, ." I said, all in one breath (I was wondering if I could sleep in your room tonight). He blinked twice before it registered.

"What? Why?" He asked, taken back.

"Well, my room kind of blew up, and so did the room's bellow deck, and the crew is sleeping out **on** the deck, so it was either your room or Iroh's, and even though I prefer the latter much MUCH more, It would be very strange for a 15 year old girl to sleep in the same room as a man over twice her age." I explained. He looked back at his map.

"I get the futon." He said. I rolled my eyes at his lack of chivalry, but was thankful he hadn't kicked me out. I sat in the corner, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on them. "Aren't you going to change out of your armor?" He asked, eyes still locked on the map.

"By 'my room blew up', I mean everything in it." I said, trying to keep irritation out of my voice.

"You could at least take the metal off." He suggested, eyes finally meting mine. I froze in a moment of realization. Why hadn't I thought of that?! He smirked, as if enjoying my moment of stupidity, and returned his gaze to the map. I unlaced the chest piece and slipped it off. I clattered and hit the ground. Zuko closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

"Sorry." I chuckled.

"Whatever." He mumbled, turning his attention back to the map. I unlace the hip piece and carefully placed it on the ground, glancing up at Zuko to see if I had disturbed him again. His eyes were still glued to the piece of paper in front of him. I took off my wrist guards and boots, setting them down beside my other things. I sat there awkwardly for another minutes or two, before lying down on my stomach and setting my head down on my forearms, trying to take up as little room as possible.


	3. We Crashed?

I'm not gunna lie, its one of THOSE chapters. Nothing really happens… -.- sorry. Well, you still have to read it, because the plot thickens EVER SO SLIGHTLY, and it shows a bit of Zuko and Kiminari's relationship. It's very complicated… .* I don't know how Iroh stands them.

P.S. Zhao is a LADIES MAN. DEAL!!!

* * *

I woke up more comfortable and warm than I had gone to sleep. I opened my eyes sleepily as the ray's of the sun appeared in the horizon. _Rise with the sun_. I stretched-arms above my head and toes pointed-letting out a yawn and rubbing my eyes. When I curled up in original position, I found the reason for my comfort. I was on the futon. I bolted upright, the morning laziness evaporating immediately. I _**was**_ on the futon, and I was alone. My uniform was still where I had left it, but the Prince was nowhere in sight. I pulled his covers off me and stepped out of the futon. A muffled grunt sounded, and the ground smacked my leg. I snatched it back onto the futon with a gasp, edging away from the sound.

"Watch were you stepping, you idiot." Zuko's angry voice snapped. I peeked over the edge to see a very peeved Zuko glaring at me from a straw mat. I suddenly understood.

"Aw, Zuko! You really do have a heart!" I babied, falling on top of him and pinching his cheeks.

"What are- stop! OW! Kiminari!" He protested, covering his face with his arms. I sat on his stomach and took advantage of the fact that his arms were up, ticking him.

"Hey! Stop! I'm going to hurt you!" He threatened, squirming around.

"Zuko's got a heart! Zuko's ticklish!" I mocked, moving down to his ribs. He grabbed my wrists, but I shifted and ticked him with my toes. His lips twitched uncontrollably.

"Kiminari you PAIN IN THE-" He was cut off by the sound of the door banging against the metal and an embarrassed cough.

"Uh, Prince Zuko, we're at the port." One of the soldiers said, biting his lip to keep from laughing. Zuko lifted me up by the upper arms and threw me back on the futon.

"The get to fixing the ship!" Zuko growled, glaring at me before shoving the messenger aside and leaving the room. I smiled innocently until he was gone, then it morphed into a devilish smirk.

"This close to a smile." I told the messenger, holding my pointer finger and my thumb centimeters apart. He chuckled.

"Good luck with that." He said, returning to whatever job he had to do. I laughed quietly, laying back on Zuko's and stretching again before jumping up and walking towards my uniform, tucked neatly by the corner. I pulled on the hip piece, boot's and wrist guards, leaving the chest piece on the ground for now. I sat at Zuko's desk, rummaging trough his things until I found a whalebone comb. I ran it though my waist-long hair slowly, glancing around the rest of the things on the drawer I had found the comb in. I caught a glimmer of gold near the back. I set down the grooming instrument, picking up the royal hairpiece that Zuko would have been wearing were he not banished two years ago. I pulled out my own that I had set on the table before brushing my hair. I held them together, comparing them. They were identical. The same dagger like shape, the same size, same width. I sighed, tossing Zuko's back into the drawer along with his comb. I shut it with my hip, pulling the front part of my hair back and securing it on top of my head (think Sokka hair, but long), setting the royal hairpiece in place (think Azula's gold crow thing). I yawned again, touching my toes, then doing a backbend. My back cracked and I sighed in satisfaction, straightening up. I grabbed my chest piece and pulled it over my head my head as I walked out of Zuko's room, down the hall and on to the deck.

"Iroh, will you tie me?" I asked, trying to tie the right side of the chest piece and failing miserably. "Iroh?" I asked, looking around. Someone yanked and tied the strings on my left. I turned to see who it was and…BAM. Prince No-Smile.

"Iroh's drinking his tea." Zuko explained, untangling my fingers from the ties on the right and tying it securely.

"I'm shocked." I chuckled. "How long is the ship repairs going to take?" I added as an afterthought.

"Probably all day." Zuko frowned, crossing his arms and starring into space. I adjusted the chest piece and peeked up at him from the corner of my eye.

"Smile a little. Your depressing me with your gloom." I said, grabbing both his cheeks and pulling them into a smile. I chuckled when he glared at me. He yanked my hands from his face.

"Let's go." He said, pulling me along to the drawbridge. "Uncle! We're going."

"What's the hurry, handsome. The day's still young." I teased, pulling his ponytail with my free hand. He glared at me over his shoulder. "Are you hopping that glare will set me on fire?" I chuckled. "Keep up the good work, I think I'm getting warmer."

"Oh, stuff it." He grumbled, looking away. I let go of his hair. Enough for now. Iroh caught up with us as we got to the bow.

"It's so nice to see you two getting along." He smiled. Zuko and I glanced at each other quizzically. We weren't acting friendly…then I remembered my hand in Zuko's. I snatched it away, whipping it on my leg snobbishly. Zuko snorted and crossed his arms.

"He was dragging me, not holding my hand." I told Iroh.

He smirked, but didn't say anything. I turned to Zuko.

"My turn." I said, grabbing him by the collar of his uniform and dragging him down the drawbridge behind me.

"Ah! Commander Zhao!" Iroh greeted the tall man on the dock. I let go of Zuko.

"Commander Iroh, Prince Zuko. **Princess** **Kiminari**." Zhao stressed my name, kissing my hand.

"Hello Commander Zhao." I smiled, greeting him formally and bowing.

"I am honored that a member of the Royal Family show's me such respect." Zhao said, bowing as well. "To what honor do we owe your visit?" I felt a firm hand on my shoulder as Zuko shoved me off to the side, stepping in front of Zhao.

"Our ship was damaged and we need to make repairs." He said. I rubbed my shoulder grudgingly, whishing a horrible and painful death upon the Prince that stood in front of me.

"And it's quite some damage." Zhao observed. "How, pray tell, did this happen?"

"We…" Zuko trailed off.

"Crashed." I piped up.

"Yes, we crashed." Zuko said. "Kiminari, tell him how we crashed." He added, looking back at me expectantly.

"Oh, I'm not very good with stories, you tell him." I said it pleasantly enough, but Zuko scowled.

"Uncle. Tell him how we crashed." Zuko said.

"Oh, well, let's discuss this over a cup of tea shall we?" Iroh said, pointing towards the town.

"Princess Kiminari." Zhao said, offering his arm like a gentleman. "A Princess must have an escort." He added when I hesitated. I reached towards his arm, and almost touched it when Zuko grabbed my wrist, my fingers centimeters away from Zhao. He didn't say a word, but put my hand firmly on his own forearm. I keep a pleasant smile until Zhao turned his back, then used my free hand to smack Zuko upside the head. He flexed his arm, squashing my hand in the crevice of his elbow. I bit my lip not to yelp. He relaxed his muscles, guiding me forward.

"What's your problem with Commander Zhao?" I snapped in a hushed tone as we walked along the street.

"It's not Zhao I have a problem with." He said back tartly. I rolled my eyes.

"What's you problem, then?" I asked, generalizing the question.

"You and your…_**forwardness**_. It's unbecoming." He snarled.

"Forw- I was merely being friendly!" I hissed, looking towards the two men in front of us to see if they had heard.

"**Too** friendly." Zuko growled.

"No such thing." I smirked, returning my glance forward to end the conversation. Zuko and I were silent all the way to Commander Zhao's office.

"Princess, in that room, if you please." Zhao said, motioning graciously to a room on the right.

"I can't go in?" I asked, pouting slightly.

"I'm afraid not. War room. You should rest in my office." Zhao said.

"She's coming with us." Zuko said defiantly. Here's payback you jerk.

"Actually, I'm quite eager to see your office!" I said, snatching my hand from Zuko. "Please, don't let me keep you!" I said, bowing and entering Zhao's office. But not before throwing Zuko a glare.

_Have fun._ I mouthed.


	4. Another Agni Kai

Agni Kai today!!! Once again, it's one of THOSE chapters that can't be avoided. It's essential to have these if we want to get were we need to be. PLEASE REVIEW, THEY MAKE MY DAY! (I know that's sad, but it's true!)

* * *

Zhao was showing me his vast collection of compasses when Zuko slammed open the door.

"Hey, Zuko!" I said, forgetting out earlier squabble. I picked up one of the compasses and walked over to him. "Commander Zhao has a compass from the Air Nomads!" I gave the little pointer a gentle flick. "Isn't that neat?" I asked, smiling. He looked at me, shock plastering his face. "What?" I asked, smile faltering. He shook his head, clearing it. Pushing me aside, he marched right up to Zhao.

"I take you up on your offer! And Agni Kai at sunset!" Zuko growled.

"Whoa there, an Agni Kai?" I asked, setting down the compass. "What exactly did I miss?" I asked Iroh, who had just walked into the room, obviously following Zuko.

"Zhao knows about the Avatar, and he's taking action to catch him himself." Iroh said gravelly.

"Commander! You do understand Zuko has been searching for the Avatar for over two years!" I said.

"I do, Princess, I do. But unsuccessfully." He said, holding my hands in his. He turned to Zuko. "I'll see you at sunset. Princess, would you like to see the armory?" I removed my hands from him.

"No thank you, Commander Zhao. I need to speak with the Prince and his uncle." I said, bitterness coloring my tone. Zhao was completely ignorant to it.

"Alright. Maybe some other time then." He said, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

"Some time when I'm stupid." I mumbled after him. I turned my attention back to Zuko.

(third person pov)

Kiminari was visibly shaking, but whether it was in rage or in fear, the Prince was not sure. She walked up to him slowly, stopping a foot away. Her face was blank, her eyes said nothing…and then, she hit him. A sharp, accurate jab in the middle of his chest. Zuko doubled over, clutching his chest.

"You idiot! Do you know what you just did?" She screamed down at him. He straightened up, glaring deep into her green eyes that seemed to be burning with rage.

"What are you on about?" He snapped.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you battled a master?" She hissed, shoving his chest. "Or have you not seen a mirror in two years?"

"Of course you would think I'd be the one to lose! Your infatuated with Zhao!" He sneered.

"Is that why I followed him out of here just now?" She said sarcastically.

"I don't know why your still here." The Prince snapped. Kiminari inhaled. "You should be helping Zhao get ready." Her breath left her in a loud whoosh and she looked down at her feet. When she spoke, her voice was quiet.

"Just remember one thing, Prince Zuko." Her eyes meet his in a hard stare that held warning. "If you don't win, I'll never forgive you." And with that threat, she turned her back to him and walked out of the room. Iroh glanced at him sympathetically before following her out.

* * *

(normal-Kiminari-pov)

"The **NERVE** of your nephew, Iroh! The **nerve**!" I hissed walking down the street with Iroh at my side. "It's like he **wants **to die! Stupid git!" I huffed, kicking a pebble. "And did you hear him? With his 'I don't know why your still here' 'your infatuated with Zhao'!" I mimicked his voice and copied his angry face, trying my best to sound and look like the 16 year old boy. Iroh just nodded wisely, but said nothing. I covered my left eye with my hand. "I must find the Avatar because I have nothing better to do and my father loathes me! UGH. He's **infuriating**!" I said, voice returning to normal at the end.

"I'm glad I amuse you." Someone growled behind me. I turned, letting my hand fall from my face.

"Oh look, dead man walking." I sneered.

"Kiminari you-" He started, fuming. I turned and continued walking, cutting him off.

"Save it. You'll be dead by tomorrow anyways." I sighed, walking towards Commander Zhao, who I spotted near the docks.

"Commander!" I smiled, waving. When I was centimeters away from him, I tripped on the pebble I had kicked earlier, falling into his arms.

"Princess are you alright?" He asked. I hid my smirk of satisfaction.

"Oh, yes. Just clumsy today. Thank you Commander Zhao." I said, pulling myself out of his grasp and bowing.

* * *

Iroh and I sat in front of Zuko, who was dressed and prepared for the Agni Kai. Iroh was giving him constructive advice, wile I stared off into space absentmindedly. Or so it seemed. I was worried. The mere thought of Zuko and Agni Kai in the same sentence made me want to puke. Of course I had been a complete jerk earlier, but no one could blame me for being angry with his stupidity. Especially not him.

"Princess, do you have any advice?" Iroh asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't die." I yawned.

"Geez, thanks." Zuko snapped.

"And his left arm is weakest." I said, locking eyes with the Prince.

"You couldn't possibly know that!" He said, disbelieving.

"I think I could." I smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zuko asked, brow furrowing.

"You honestly think I trip over pebbles? My balance is perfect." I snapped, annoyed by, you guessed it, his stupidity. "Now go." I said, motioning towards the arena. "I'm leaving in an hour and so are you, whether I'm dragging your dead body or not."

* * *

As the Agni Kai progressed, I had jumped to my feet. I stood, tense, beside Iroh, who was still seated, but seemed to be calculating Zhao's every step. I almost passed out when Zhao kicked Zuko in the chest. The Prince hit the ground, and Zhao wound back for the finishing blow.

"ZUKO!" I screamed. I would have run out and blasted Zhao to the North Pole if Zuko hadn't twisted out of the way. I sighed and fell to my keens, drained. Iroh patted my shoulder comfortingly. I bounce up and down, biting my nails nervously. Zuko used my advice and went for his left, and Zhao fell back. Zuko stood above him, hands at the ready. He blast fire from his fist, not at the Commander, but the ground beside his head. He had him! He won! I jumped up as Zuko walked back to us, unable to keep a goofy grin off my face. Zhao though, had other plans. He got up at once, winding his leg back for a kick. Iroh and I moved immediately. I ran past a surprised Zuko, hitting the middle of Zhao's foot with a well aimed punch, the fire he was about to blast disappeared, and pain shot up my arm. Iroh grabbed Zhao's ankle, and sent him flying back. I left my arm fall limply to my side. That was going to hurt in the morning.

"So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat." Iroh said.

"Disgraceful." I spat. The Commander looked down, angry and ashamed. Zuko growled and moved towards him. I stood in his way, putting my good hand around his waist and turning him around. Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not taint you victory." The wise man said. Zuko sighed, and I pulled him-arm still around his waist-back towards the ship. He slumped against me, obviously tired. I grabbed his arm and pulled it over my shoulder.

"Good job, Zuko." I whispered, needing to get it out, but hoping he didn't hear me. I felt his head bob, nodding. Well, at least he didn't make a go-flirt-with-Zhao comment.

We boarded the ship, Zuko not even bothering to give them men orders.

"North." I told them, walking Zuko to his room. I fumbled with the door. I was still supporting him, with one hand, and the other… I balanced on one foot and turned the large metal circle with the other. Nudging the door open with my knee, I helped him in. He dragged his feet along the metal and fell onto the futon. I pulled up his arms and removed the two cuffs he had on his upper arms, setting them down inside the drawer I had found the comb and hairpiece in this morning.

"Well, night." I said, walking out of the room and closing the door. I sighed and rubbed my hand as I walked down the hall towards my own room. I closed the door and looked around. A futon, a table and stool, several fire nation tapestries and a burrow. Homely. I untied Zuko's secure knots on my uniform and set it in the burrow neatly. Those were the only clothes I had right now. I took of the under shirt and pants as well, it was hot. So, left in my wrappings I ran my fingers trough my hair, removing the top ponytail and hairpiece. I bundled all the long brown strands on top of my head, laid back on my futon, and starred at the newly repaired ceiling, waiting for sleep to overtake me.


	5. Walk Through The Town

Yeah, I changed the tittle... it sounded stupid, and the story really isn't very depressing...yet. *winkwinknudgenudge*

* * *

"Hey! **Wake up**!" I opened my eyes slowly, squinting up at my disturber.

"Uhg, Zuko, go away." I groaned, rolling over and waving him away with my hand.

"Get up, get some clothes on, and lets go. I'm not telling you again." He threatened. He didn't sound angry, so I didn't move. "Fine, but you asked for it." My eyes snapped open. Uh oh. He grabbed me, throwing me over his shoulder, and marched towards the door.

"Zuko! Put me down!" I yelled, hitting his back with both hands, ignoring the faint throbbing in my right one.

"I warned you." He said. Before he could get me through the door, I opened my legs, one on each side of the door frame. "Let go." He snapped.

"Put me down." I chuckled. I kicked off the wall, pushing us back into the room. He stumbled back, and I took the chance to make my escape. I put my hand on top of his head, flipping over him and back onto the futon. Or I would have landed on the futon, had he not grabbed me midair. He held me around the waist, pressing me up to his chest in a vice like hold.

"Ugh, fine. You win." I grumbled, after freeing myself proved impossible. He let me go and chuckled.

"So, good mood?" I asked, realizing I was still only in my wrappings. I walked over to the burrow and pulled out my clothes.

"No." He smiled.

"Oh really?" I laughed, pulling on my shirt. "The AVATAR!" I screamed, pointing out the window. He turned around so fast I barely saw it. I chuckled and pulled on my pants. He turned back towards me and scowled.

"Not funny." He growled.

"Aw, come on." I snorted, throwing a wrist guard at him. He snatched it out of the air and slipped it onto my wrist. I hissed in pain as it scrapped against my knuckles. I pulled my arm back, glowering at him.

"What?" He asked, looking at my hand. "When did that happen?" There was a dark purple bruise on three of my knuckles.

"It's nothing." I said dismissively, pulling on my other wrist guard and sitting down to put on my boots. He didn't look convinced, but let it drop. "Lace me up." I told him, slipping on the chest piece.

"Your hopeless." He chuckled, tying it.

"Iroh usually does is." I mumbled, letting my hair down and tying it like usual. Zuko eyed the hairpiece. Need a distraction… "What are we doing today?" I asked.

"Buying you clothes." He said, tearing his eyes away from the gold hair ornament and locking eyes with me.

"We made port just for that?" I asked, surprised. He scoffed.

"Of course not. Uncle Iroh broke his tea pot." Zuko said, his dark mood returning. I hooked my arm trough his, pulling out the door.

"Well, wile he look's for a new one, we can walk though town." I said, in attempt to cheer him up.

"Joy." He mumbled.

"Shut up. You know your exited!" I said, as we walked out on the deck. Iroh smiled at the sight of us arm in arm.

"Well, well, well. Good morning you two." He chuckled. Zuko glared at him, but made no attempt to pull his arm free.

"He proposed." I told a soldier, unsatisfied with the Princes reaction.

"What?!" Zuko snapped.

"You don't have to be shy." Iroh played along. Zuko pulled his arm free and stalked down the drawbridge towards land, mumbling under his breath. I jogged to catch up, latching onto his arm again.

"Such an angry young man." I chuckled. "We all know who your going to get married to." I added.

"How could you possibly?" He asked, as we walked into the town.

"Remember Mai?" I teased. He flushed red. "HA! I knew it." I said, smiling smugly.

"You don't know anything." He snapped. "You, Azula and Ty Lee planned that little fountain accident." he accused.

"Me? I didn't plan anything with that demon sister of yours. I was merely an innocent bystander." I said, sniffing the air. "I found breakfast!" I said, pulling Zuko into a restaurant.

"Your like a dog, Kiminari." He sighed.

"Princess!" The cook gasped, running out of the kitchen. I cleared my throat and jerked my head slightly towards the boy who had my arm. "And Prince!" He added, bowing.

"Aren't you from the Earth Kingdom?" I asked, surprised.

"I am proudly of the Fire Nation. We moved here from one of the colonies." He explained, standing up. "How may I help you today?"

"Table for two." Zuko said, eyeing the other people in the establishment. "A private one." He added, after finishing his inspection.

"Ooohhh." The man said, misunderstanding. "Right this way." He said, smiling.

"Wait, we're not-" Zuko started.

"Just drop it." I chuckled. "He's not going to believe it."

We followed the man to a table in the very back, next to a screen door that was open to a beautiful courtyard.

"Is this to your liking?" He asked expectantly.

"Perfect." I smiled. Zuko and I sat across from each other and ordered our food. The man scurried away to get it.

"So." I started.

"So." He said. There was an awkward pause. "Pretty view." He tried.

"Yep. Very pretty." I said, crossing my arms on the table and tapping my fingers. The cook came hurrying back with out food, setting it on the table and bowing before scurrying away again.

"Pass me the bread." Zuko said, holding out his hand. I peeled off the crust and handed him a slice, keeping my hand out.

"Fruit." I said. He picked out the mangoes, placing them in his plate and handed me the bowl. He also kept his hand out.

"Your soup." He said. I handed it to him, and waited for him to pick out all my green onion's before I took it back.

"You missed one." I told him, fishing it out with my chopsticks and setting it in his plate. "What tea do you have?" I asked, peeking over into his cup.

"Jasmine." He said, glaring at me when I snorted. "What?"

"Oh nothing." I chuckled, stirring my soup. "Your like another Iroh when you let your guard down that's all."

"What tea do you have?" He demanded, snatching up my cup for inspection.

"Black tea." I said, grabbing it back. "Tastes like chocolate." I added. He shook his head, but a smile played at his lips.

* * *

"Zuko, which one do you think?" I asked, holding up the two dresses.

"The red one." He said, glancing up from a scroll he had found in the store.

"I'll take the white one then!" I said, throwing the red one back into the pile. I head a loud sigh behind me and chuckled as I looked through the shirts.

"Hey, Zuko, sleeves of collar?" I asked.

"Collar."

"Sleeves it is."

* * *

"Hurry it up, ponytail, I want to stop by the jewelry store we saw a wile back."

"Maybe I'd go faster if I wasn't **carrying all your things**." Zuko snapped from somewhere in the pile I had handed him.

"No need to get grouchy, you volunteered." I reminded him.

"When you only had a handful." He mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, never mind." He sighed, as I led us into the jeweler's.

"Oh! Look at that one!" I said, pointing to a necklace not far off. "So pretty…" I said, pressing my nose up against the glass.

"Then buy it." Zuko said, setting my things down on a tabled.

"Okay!" I said, pulling it out of the case and all but running to the man behind the counter. I handed it to him, and the second it touched his hand, some one yelled my name. There was a loud explosion, and the right side of the shop was ripped off. I dropped the necklace, turning around and falling immediately into a fight stance. A few feet away, Zuko had done the same thing. He nodded towards me, and we ran out of the shop, towards the disturbance. What we saw froze us in shock.

"What the hell…" I murmured.

"It's the Shinoku!" The cook from the restaurant yelled.

"Please! Princess, Prince, save us!" He cried, falling to his knees before us.

"Alright, alright." I said.

"What can I do to help?" He asked.

"You can start by getting out of the way." Zuko snapped, pulling him out of the way as the thing snapped a claw towards us. As cook scurried into a building, Zuko and I tuned out attention to the giant crab before us.

"Ready?" Zuko smirked.

"When you are." I said, returning the sly smile. Dinner was on us.


	6. The Avatar Makes Me Sick

Blah Blah Blah, Dinner was on us.

* * *

Zuko took the right and I took the left. I kicked off the wall of a little shop, flipping in the air and shooting fire from my fists at the giant crab. I landed on it's shell, and punched though to make a holding place as it jerked around wildly. I heated up my hand, sinking it into the white flesh beneath the cavity I had formed. I did the same with my other hand. At this point, I had no idea where Zuko was. That is, until I head him yell.

"Kiminari!" I glanced up, to see him falling towards me. I yelped and moved out of the way, and he landed where I had been seconds before.

"Watch it!" I snapped. If he had heard me, he ignored it, and punched his own hole trough the crabs shell. The thing made a chirping noise. "I didn't know crabs made noise!" I exclaimed, punching into my cavity again, where I was now elbow deep. It jerked awkwardly, sending the two of us flying off the front. Zuko smashed onto the roof of a house. I, unfortunately, landed on top of a pincer. The crab opened it, sending me into a split. He closed it and opened again quickly, sending me back and forth enough times that my legs got numb. Still staying on somehow, I gripped his claw tightly and kicked a fireball trough the middle of it pincer. The right half fell to the ground, and I flipped backwards to avoid getting caught again. I managed to keep my stance.

"I say we just blow it up!" I yelled at Zuko, who had just gotten up. He nodded.

"Better get this done with." He agreed. I ran towards him, and he grabbed my foot and threw me in the air. I kicked several fireballs at the crab, cracking it's shell, wile Zuko took out four of it's legs with a single blast. I broke through it's shell completely as it fell back, delivering the final blow to the soft spot in between it's eyes. The force of the explosion sent both Zuko and I flying back, covered in crab meat. Zuko landed on his feet, but I crashed into him, sending us both to the ground.

"Now it's your turn to watch it." He chuckled.

"I can't help that you got in my way!" I scoffed as he helped me up.

"Thank you!" A man yelled, running towards with tears in his eyes. "Thank you!" He repeated, bowing in front of us. The rest of the villagers copied him.

"Sure, sure." I said, waving my hand dismissively.

"Let's go now." Zuko said, pulling me along by the arm. He let go and disappeared into the store we were in for a couple of seconds before returning with my things. I took half of it off his hands and helped him carry it to the ship. He earned it.

* * *

"What happened to the two of you?" Iroh asked as we emerged from my room after putting my things away.

"Giant crab. No big deal." I said, brushing the remaining crab meat off.

"Prince Zuko!" One of the men shouted. We looked towards him, running towards us breathlessly. "The Avatar has been spotted south!" He panted. And just like that, slightly happy Zuko goes up in smoke.

"After him!" The prince yelled, hoisting himself up the ladder to the top of the tower.

"Here we go." I sighed, following him. When I go to the top, Zuko was already shouting orders and running around.

"Where are we going?" I asked, standing on my tip-toes to peek over his shoulder curiously.

"The island of Kyoshi." He said, starring into the horizon at some unseen land.

* * *

"Yes!" I cheered, pumping my fist into the air.

"What are you so happy about? You lost." Zuko asked, inspecting the Pi Sho board in between Iroh and I.

"True, I lost. But I got closer to winning this time." I said, sipping my tea. Zuko rolled his eyes and continued pacing, his arms bare in the heat of the day, despite the fact hat he wore a black vest and black pants. Thankful for my new clothes, I had settled for a sleeveless red shirt ending above my bellybutton, a red drape-style skirt that tied on the side with the safety of lose red pants beneath it ending bellow my knees, some plain black flats and a golden band on my right upper arm matching the two on Zuko's.

"There! Prince!" A soldier said, pointing to a speck of land in the distance.

"And there goes a peaceful morning." I sighed, setting down my tea, annoyed that I had to get into my armor. Zuko was down the metal rungs in seconds, a new record. I didn't even bother, and just jumped off the five storied tower, blasting fire from the bottom of my feet to soften my landing in a crouch.

"That was unnecessary." Zuko said as we walked towards our rooms.

"Don't spoil my fun." I chuckled. I turned into my room, shutting the door behind me and changing as fast as I could.

* * *

"We get the rhinos?" I asked, wide eyed.

"Yup." Zuko said, hoisting himself onto one. He held out his hand for me. I pulled on my helmet and held his hand firmly, preparing to get on. Instead, he just pulled me up by the arm. I glared at him, dangling by my limb three feet off the ground.

"Show off." I grunted, throwing a leg behind him over the side of the rhino, he let go of my arm and I placed them around his waist.

"Not my fault I'm a billion times stronger than you." He chuckled. "Maybe if you ate some more you'd have a chance of-" I didn't even bother to hear the rest of his mockery. I kicked my heals into the side of the rhino and it jerker forward, practically racing off the ship. Taking this as a signal, the other 20 men followed. Zuko pulled on the reigns sharply, controlling it with ease, much to my annoyment. Then, he snorted. The Prince I mean. If it was the rhino I wouldn't have bothered mentioning it. I glanced over his shoulder to see the reason why.

"Girls with fans?" I laughed. "Seriously?""Where are you hiding the Avatar?" Zuko asked.

"AS if they were just going to tell us." I sighed. And they didn't. They got into formation, ready to fight. "Can I go now?" I asked the Prince. He nodded. I stood up on the saddle and jumped over Zuko's head, spinning 360 degrees and kicking fire at the girls. They all came together, using their fans to hold out the flames. I landed a few feet in front of them, kicking another fireball. Once again, it was blocked.

"What the hell are these things made out of?" I snapped, snatching a fan out of one of the girls hand.

"Hey!" She protested as I tried to set it alight. This time it worked, but the fan didn't burn. Aggravated, I threw it to the ground, stomping out the fire. The girl I had taken the fan from pulled out a katana, slashing it towards me.

"Hey, no fair!" I protested, stopping it with my metal wrist pad.

"I can't bend, and you have no sword. I think it's fair." She said. The girls behind her ran around us, attacking the other men and the Prince.

"Sharp things don't count." I complained, ducking out of the way of one of her blows.

"I'll make it count." She said, slicing again.

"Alright, but you asked for it." I said, crouching and kicking fire on a circle. Startled, she feel back, the hem of her uniform burnt. "Now you have something to brag about." I chuckled, standing up and roundhouse kicking another flame at her. This one she was able to dodge, but the house behind her caught in flames. She scowled at me, charging forward again. I stopped her katana with my wrist pad again, and kicked her wrist at the joint, just as Ty Lee had taught me to do years ago. She dropped the sword and pulled away from me, holding her wrist and scrunching up her face in pain.

"Oh, oops. Did I break it?" I asked, putting both hand behind my back innocently. "That was just supposed to stop your chi." I admitted. Angry, she charged towards me again, kicking out towards my face. I caught her foot and sent her flying back into the flaming hut. I closed my left fist, with only my middle and pointer finger up, and sliced threw the air from my right shoulder to the length of my right arm. Fire shout out of my fingertips like a whip, cutting the supports of the house on a perfect line, and destroying the door.

"Suki!" Someone yelled, hitting my shoulder from behind. I'd had my fun, now it was time to get serious. I held my right fist in my left hand, using the force of both arms to knock my right elbow into their stomach. I heard them gasp, but stand their ground behind. I lifted both my arms over my head, grabbing the back of their head and throwing them over me. It was one of the girls in the uniforms.

"Hold on a second, you're a guy!" I said, surprised. He scowled and stood up, trying to get me with his fist. I grabbed his arm mid-strike, bending it behind his back. "Wait a second, you're the boomerang guy!" I said. "I get the whole war paint thing, but this is just ridiculous." I said, opening my free hand to a perfect straight and jabbing him in the back, hopping that this time I had gotten the chi blocking thing right and not broken his spine. He collapsed on the ground as soon as I let him go. I stepped over him and made towards Zuko, who was fighting three girls at once.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" Boomerang guy shouted. I turned around, taken back by his comment.

"Uh, no?" I said, kneeling in front of him. "Why would I do that?"

"Your fire nation." He spat.

"Oh." I chuckled. "Okay then, if that's what you want." I shrugged. His eyes widened as I lit a flame on my palm. I wound back and slammed my fist down.

* * *

ZUKO

"Can I go now?" Kiminari asked, practically jumping out of her skin in excitement. I nodded, eyeing the group of girls before us in suspicion. Kiminari's arms disappeared from around me, and seconds latter, she was over our heads, spinning in a circle with fire surrounding her. In one swift movement, it shot towards the girls, who got together to block it with their fans. Kiminari became visibly baffled, and as soon as she landed, she tried again. Her surprise turned to annoyment as she grabbed then fan from the lead girl and shook it around, lighting it on fire. She threw it to the ground and stomped on it in a act of complete immaturity. I was about to interrupt when the girl pulled a katana on her. I froze on horror, but Kiminari blocked it skillfully with her wrist guard. The rest of the girls attacked then. I flipped off the back of my rhino to avoid one, blasting fire from my fist. I kicked one in the stomach, sending her flying into a hut. I blocked several other fan slashes before turning my attention back to Kiminari, who was kneeling by a girl. She would her arm back, flame in hand, and smashed it down. A bright explosion sent the girls around me flying back. As I regained my eyesight, I saw the Princess doubled over, laughing hysterically. The girl that I now identified as the Boomerang fool from the South Pole looked like he was going to melt in fright, the spot next to his head was singed and at least five inches deep. As Kiminari regained her breath, a large shadow covered the two of them. Everyone looked up in time to see the Avatar slash out his glider towards the girl. Kiminari was sent flying into the statue of Avatar Kyoshi, sending that, in turn, to the ground. The monk scooped up the water peasant and they took off.

"After the Avatar!" I bellowed, mounting my rhino again. We stampeded after the bison. I veered off to the left, towards the fallen statue, searching for Kiminari. A few feet away from me, the avatar's head exploded. From the dust on the air, Kiminari shoot out, a steady stream of fire coming from her hands and feet (like Azula's flying thing). She kept going, gaining on the Avatar. I turned my rhino back to the stampede, and it led us towards the water.

* * *

Sokka

"She's psychotic!" I exclaimed, as Katara worked feeling back into my body. "She actually pretended that she was going to kill me, then burst into laughter!"

"Uh, Sokka? Is that her?" Katara asked, panic clear in her voice as she pointed towards the island. I sat up quickly, just in time to see her flying towards us.

"SHE CAN FLY?!" I screamed. "Aang!" The monk, looked back, and his normally innocent eyes widened in horror. He jumped of Apa's head and on to the saddle, his glider at the ready. The girl had almost reached us now. I threw my boomerang in hopes of slowing her down if not stopping her completely. She flipped back, kicking my boomerang straight back at me. It smacked me in the head before falling on my lap. She seemed to freeze in the air for a second before fire once again blast from her feet, her arms now outstretched. Aang shot an air slice at her, which she veered out of the way of. With one last fire blast, she flipped in the air and landed on the saddle, kicking Katara clean off her feet. She closed her fists, leaving only her pointer and middle fingers up, and shifted her feet, lifting her arms up into what I assumed to be a base position. Her back was too me so I took advantage of it and aimed a punch at her. Without even sparring a glance towards me, he foot shoot out from beneath her, kicking me on the chest and almost off the saddle. She left her leg up, flipping forward and sending an ark of fire from her heal towards Aang. He cut through it with an air slice, sending a whirlwind towards the girl. She put her palms together and then swished her arms to their respective sides, the ark of air meeting its match in fire.

"Who are you?" Aang demanded.

"Your. Worst. Nightmare." She laughed, blasting fire at him from her fists at each word.

"I need a name to write on your grave!" Katara shouted, summoning a wave and slashing it towards her. The fire nation girl moved her arms in a circle then punched them forward in perfect sync, and the wall of water turned to steam. "Princess Kiminari." She said, jumping and kicking a fire ball towards my sister. I was still clinging to the edge of the saddle, unable to do much of anything. Katara summoned another wave, blocking the fire with effort.

"Your Zuko's sister?" Aang asked.

"That moron, are you kidding? I'm from the South Nation. He's North." She said. "Did that iceberg freeze your brain or something?" She asked. "I'll thaw it for you, if you'd like." She said, roundhouse kicking a blast of fire from her heal.

"NOW!" Aang screamed. He and Katara bended a huge wave, crashing it on both side of the Princess while she was still in the air. They made a giant bubble and threw it over he side into the ocean.

* * *

Zuko

Kiminari had out up a hell of a fight, but got thrown off by a giant wave. The monk and the peasant girl made another wave, washing it over the village to put out the fire we had started. It crashed onto the shore, were we happened to have been standing. Something smashed into my face as the wave crashed. As the water went down, I looked around to find Kiminari. She was clinging on to a soldier, eyes unfocused, my helmet dangling off her foot. So SHE had crashed into my face. I pulled my rhino towards the where she was, pulling my helmet off her foot.

"Back to the ship." I ordered the men, leading the way.________________________________________________

KIMINARI

Mother fucking Avatar. I was doing so well! And now, I was in a bubble, falling off a flying bison. The restriction of the bubble disappeared as I hit the water, but before I could resurface, I was spinning around wildly. My foot collided with something, and I grabbed the first thing my hand touched. I was delighted to feel a fire nation uniform. Everything was spinning around when the water finally went down. I saw several Zuko's come towards me and pull several helmets of my several feet before we marched off with 10,000 men or so. I leaned my head back, letting the soldier on the rhino take me back to the ship.

* * *

"Uhaaaaaaaa." I moaned, after puking sea water for the tenth time. "Kill me, I'm begging you!" I pleaded, grasping Iroh's hand. He chuckled, pressing a cold cloth to my forehead. Turns out that falling into the ocean, in taking large amounts of sea water along with it's little sea creatures, being spun around and crashing onto the shore makes you horribly sick. At least the room had stopped spinning.

"Do you want some tea?" Iroh suggested. I glared at him.

"No. More. Tea." I said firmly, closing my eyes and sighing. I focused on still things. Like mountains. Mountains stood still. And…other things stood still to...Mhmm…

* * *

Iroh

I watched as the Princess finally slipped into sleep. A couple of minutes passed before Zuko came in.

"How is she?" He asked, kneeling down on the other side of her futon.

"Finally fell asleep." I said, replacing the wet towel on her forehead. "Prince Zuko, I've become tired. Take over for me." I said, getting up and walking towards the door.

"Wait! Uncle!" He called.

"Shhh!" I said, placing my finger over my lips and jerking my head towards the sleeping girl. I slipped out the door and shut it behind me. There was only so much I could do.

* * *

Zuko

I starred at the door. That sneaky old man, just waiting for a chance to go play Pi Sho. I turned my gaze to the Princess, her breathing ragged, her cheeks beaded with sweat. I replaced her towel with a cool one, brushing her hair out of her face. Ill, the girl didn't look half as energetic as she was in health, even in her sleep. Her sheets clung to her body with sweat, her hair was tangled, her face letting of an unhealthy green glow, her brow furrowed as she mumbled incoherently. All in all, I had never seen her so unkept, and I chuckled at the thought that she still looked pretty. The Fire King had three daughters and one son, and all three were known by their biggest characteristic. There was Bravery, Kindness, Intelligence, and Mischief, from eldest to youngest respectively. The sisters were grouped as the three crown jewels of the south. Kiminari is the youngest, and noticeably the Daddy's girl. No matter how much trouble she got in-and she got into a lot-she always fell back to Daddy, having a good laugh and no punishment at all. I envied her relationship with her father, and with her sisters as well. They were all completely different from the other, yet they got along perfectly fine. She and her brother had the strongest bond. He was he elder by three years, Bravery, and the heir to the South throne. Azula and I barely made it through the day without killing each other. It was on one of these day's that I meet Kiminari.

_I felt something wet touch my cheek. I opened my eyes and groaned. Two year old, half naked Azula held a drool covered hand to my face. _

"_Get out of my room." I whined, pulling my covers over my head. She yanked my ponytail. "Ouch! Mommy!" I yelled. My mother walked into my room, holding a red shirt._

"_There you are." She cooed, sitting down on my bed and pulling Azula on her lap so she could wrestle her into her shirt. "Zuko, darling, you should get ready now. The kids I told you about are coming here today." She said, tying up the front of Azula's shirt. "They have a daughter who's four, just like you!" She added, setting Azula down and turning to me._

"_Girls are stupid." I said, crossing my arms._

"_Well, you should meet her fist, then you can decide is she's stupid or not."_

…

_The Royal family stepped out of their carriage in a precise manner. Fire King, Fire Lady, Fire Prince, Fire Princess, Fire Princess. There was a brief pause before the last member stepped out. She scowled at her surrounding, but the look of displeasure soon vanished into a blank stare as she got in line with her sibling. I was standing by my mothers side, and we all bowed._

…

"_We've been sent out to play." The youngest girl scoffed, throwing a pebble in the air. "This is great."_

"_Kimmi don't be such a downer!" The eldest girl said, spinning the giggling Azula around in a circle. The middle daughter peeked out from behind her scroll._

"_You can read with me." She suggested. The youngest girl laughed._

"_No thanks. Hey, Yoh, you wanna wrestle?" She asked her brother, hopping on his back._

"_If you want to lose." He chuckled, flipping her over. I watched in horror as she flipped off his back, but when she hit the ground, she merely laughed and hopped back on, tightening her legs around her bothers neck and pulling at his hair. "Hey!" He laughed, trying to pry her off. She jumped off his back, flipping in the air and landing on her feet. She stumbled and fell back, right by me. I'd been trying to stay unnoticed._

"_Oh, hi!" She said, getting up and dusting off her clothes. "I'm Kiminari. What your name?" She asked, offering her hand. _

"_Girls are stupid." I snapped. _

"_That's Zuko." Her bother said. "Right?" I nodded._

"_Girls are not stupid! I- I challenge you to an Agni Kai!" She yelled._

"_Here we go again." He bother sighed. "She's been challenging everyone to an Agni Kai ever since she started her war training." He explained._

"_I accept!" I snapped._

…

_Five minutes latter, her bother was watching two four-year olds wrestle around in the dirt, pulling at each others hair and bending slivers of fire as thin as a hair at each other._

"_Alright, alright!" The seven-year old boy said, pulling us apart by the back of the shirt. We trashed around for a little bit, still trying to get each other, but finally gave in._

"_The two of you are evenly matched, okay?" We nodded grudgingly, and he dropped us. _

I chuckled again at the memory. It was twelve years ago, and yet, her personality hadn't changed at all. We'd quickly bonded over the Agni Kai incident, training together whenever we had the chance. Our mothers had seen the development in our relationship, and gladly paired us up at every moment possible. Kiminari spent half her life in at my house, and I spent half of mine at hers, save, of course, the trips to Ember Island. If I remembered correctly, it was at about the age of six that Mai and Ty Lee entered the picture. Kiminari and Azula had a natural diversion of the other. That was one of the things Kiminari and I had in common. I glanced down at her sleeping figure. Now, instead of trashing around in the heat of her fever, she was shivering, curled up in a little ball. I removed the cold towel from her forehead, grabbing another blanket and throwing it over her. She looked so breakable right now, it broke my heart. She always had that "can-do" attitude that annoyed me on several occasions, and now she was just, weak. And the fact that she was shivering was enough to worry me even more.

"You're a Firebender, damn it." I mumbled, pulling her blankets up higher.


	7. My Favorite Jerk

Hey people, thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming! I don't care how hard you are on me. (That's what she said, Haha- *cough* sorry…). Carry on, there's some mindless fluff in here, but the real romance is going to take FOREVER. Hehehe…. (reviews could change my mind, though… (winkwinknudgenudge)

ZUKO

I woke up to an empty room. Panicking slightly, I stood quickly, running out. Kiminari wasn't in any of the room, or on the deck. I made towards the galley with hope, and sure enough, she was sitting by the fire in leggings and one of the turtle neck shirts we wore under our armor, her hair smoothed back into a ponytail and royal hairpiece nowhere to be see. Iroh was sitting beside her, and they were both sipping tea. They looked up in unison as I came in.

KIMINARI (means lightning btw, I pick these names carefully…foreshadowing? I think yes…! :P)

I glanced up as Zuko ran in through the door of the galley.

"Howdy." I said, waving once. He visibly relaxed.

"Hi." He said, sitting across from Iroh and I. "Feeling better?"

"I'm actually feeling better that I usually feel healthy." I chuckled. "It's probably from living in a ship for so long." I added carelessly. My eyes widened. Touchy subject…

"Yeah? Then why don't you just go home?" Zuko snapped. Damn it, damn it, damn it.

"Uh, Zuko, I didn't really-" I started.

"It's not as if I need you here anyways!" He interrupted. "You only get in the way. Uselessness is in your blood. That probably why my father has absolute power over yours. If you had fought harder when you were on the Avatar's bison, he wouldn't have gotten away." Everyone in the galley-Iroh, twelve soldiers, and myself-froze, staring at Zuko, and waiting for my reaction.

"I'm sorry." I said, setting down my tea. "I didn't know I was such a liability." I added quietly shuffling out, embarrassment coloring my cheeks. I went straight into my room, shutting the door and locking it. I sighed, grabbing my armor and pulling it on quickly. I let down my hair, pulling back the top and putting the royal hair piece in place. Then, I realized I had gotten dressed up for nothing, because I was most certainly not showing my face out on deck for a good long time. So I paced, smoothed out the sheets on my futon, cleaned up the rags and bucket of now cold water by it, re-folded my clothes, organized my drawers, and paced some more. Eventually, I gave up on pacing and sat down on the futon, looking gout the long, thin window.

"Just four more hours." I sighed, telling by the position of the sun.

As soon as the sun had disappeared, I peeked my head out into the hall, glancing both ways before sneaking out towards the deck. As soon as I was about to round the last hall, I head Zuko yelling, and it was getting louder. I cursed under my breath, kicking off the wall and climbing up until I had my back flat against the ceiling. I pulled one hand off the wall and pulled my too-long hair up. It would be a dead give away if there was a curtain of brown hair in the hall.

"-Avatar! Stupid, arrogant, self-" Zuko snarled as he walked under me, stomping into his room. I fell on one knee, slipping out the door and into the deck. I peeked into the galley, and found Iroh, alone by the fire. I slipped in, closing the door behind me.

"Who was he yelling about?" I asked quietly, sitting cross-legged beside him. He didn't seem surprised to see me there. I pulled out my hair piece and fumbled with it.

"Do not worry. It wasn't you. _Admiral_ Zhao has captured the Avatar." Iroh sighed. I starred at him, shocked.

"Zhao got a promotion?" I asked. Iroh nodded. "Poor Zuko." I mumbled, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on them. Iroh's eyes tore away from the fire.

"Your ability to forgive Zuko is amazing," He said. "And very admirable."

"I wasn't ever angry with him." I shrugged. "He just has a lot on his mind." I added, grabbing a large chunk of bread and cheese and eating. I hadn't had any food all day.

"Your unnaturally understanding today. Are you still sick?" Iroh, chuckled, putting his hand against my forehead. I chuckled as he put it up to his own head. "Nope." He lowered his hand back on to his lap.

"I'm not saying he doesn't annoy the fire out of me. He's the biggest jerk to ever take a breath, but he's my favorite jerk." I said. Iroh put a hand on my shoulder.

"Zuko is lucky to have a friend like you." He smiled.

"He is, isn't he?" I chuckled. "But he's also lucky to have an uncle like you." Iroh opened his mouth to speak, but I stood up quickly. "I have to go. Zuko may come back." I said, opening the door to the galley and slipping out. I shut it behind me, running not towards the safety of my room as I implied I would, but out towards the front of the ship. I looked out towards the island the loomed in the distance. One of our small river boats made it's way towards it. It was the largest one, unique to all others. This only meant one thing, Zuko. I had heard the sound of the engine wile talking to Iroh.

"Hmm…Maybe he wants a new place to sulk." I chuckled to myself, walking back to wards my room calmly, the rush disappearing without the presence of the Prince.

I turned in my bed. I hadn't slept a wink, and he wasn't back yet. I was about to explode in anxiety when I heard the familiar rumble of the smaller boat as it pulled up onto the back of the ship. I waited a couple minutes.

"I'm going to bed. No disturbances." Footsteps down the hall, a door slamming. The second the metal had collided with metal, I was out of bed, pulling on my uniform and doing my hair, slipping out of my room and practically skipping out to the deck. No Zuko, no problem.

I laughed, almost shooting my tea out of my nose.

"Tell it again!" I told the soldier, still giggling uncontrollably.

"Alright, so a Platypus-Bear was walking down-"

"Kiminari." A harsh voice demanded. My insides froze, my giggling stopping immediately. I glanced back slowly.

"Zuko." I said, nodding curtly.

"Come with me." He snapped, walking out towards the deck. I sighed, putting down my tea cup and standing. Several soldiers patted my back on my way out of the galley.

"If I don't survive, you can have my cookies." I told the soldier who had told me the joke. The deck was empty save for the Prince, who was halfway across already. I jogged to catch up, seeing as he had no intention of slowing down. He only stopped when his hips were pressed against the metal at the front, his hands gripping the railing.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"Are you still…mad?" My behavior went from nervous to sassy in the frame of .002 seconds.

"No, but mark my words, Prince Angry, one more of those little 'go home', and 'absolute power over your father' cracks, and not only will I leave, I'll **KILL** you, understood?" I said, poking him in the chest.

"Fine." He mumbled.

"You know how embarrassed I was?" I added, in a weak voice. His eyes widened slightly, but before he could comment on my sudden confession, I did what I did best. Teased him. "Now, who's my widdle Zuzu?" I babied, pulling his cheek. He growled and slashed his hand out. I ducked and slashed out my foot, knocking him down. He supported himself on his hands as he flipped back up, slashing his foot at me. I blocked it with my forearms and sent a fire blast at him.

"Oh, so that's how it is." He chuckled darkly.

"Bring it, pretty boy." I said, getting in a fighting stance.

"Oww! Okay, okay! You win!" I whined. Zuko managed to get me pinned down onto the metal floor of the deck.

"HA! That's what you get for messing with the Fire Nation prince!" He gloated. I grabbed him by the neck and flipped him, so that now, he was lying on the floor and I was sitting on his chest, holding him down securely. Yeah, he had me beat by a long-shot in strength, but not technique!

"That's what you get for messing with the Fire Nation princess." I chuckled. He scowled and flipped us again, so that I was once again face down.

"What was that?" He chuckled. I tried desperately to flip him again but the element of surprise was on my side last time.

"Nothing, you win." I grumbled.

"That's what I though." He said smugly.

"Unless you want me to make your face symmetrical, get off." I grunted, trying to pull free again.

"I've lost my White Lotus tile!" Irohs voice boomed from the galley. Zuko and I glanced at each other curiously before he helped me up and we walked into the galley.

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Zuko asked.

"I've lost it! It's gone!" He moaned, holding his head in his hands.

"Lost what?" I asked.

"One of my Pi Sho tiles." He wailed. Zuko slapped a hand to his forehead. "We need to make port! I need a replacement!"

"Uncle, there is NO WAY we're making port just for a Pi Sho piece." Zuko said, crossing his arms. "NO WAY."

Not ten minutes latter, I was pulling Zuko down the drawbridge of the ship while he cursed under his breath.

"Aw, come on. Don't be so grumpy." I chuckled, lacing my arm though his as we walked down the street after Iroh.

"This is ridiculous." He mumbled, frowning. I used my free hand to force his forehead to smooth out.

"No frowning. Got it?" I said, pulling on one of his cheeks. "Big smile." He grimaced widely. "Uh, how about you just frown?" I chuckled meekly. He rolled his eyes, but the ghost of a smile danced on his lips. I sighed happily.

"What are you so content about?" He asked, as we followed Iroh into a store.

"There's no Avatar to chase, no battle to fight…I'm just enjoying the peace." I smiled, closing my eyes and leaning my head against his shoulder. I yawned.

"What are you tired for? You've been in your room for three days." He said, pulling me out of the store and down the street to were Iroh had wandered.

"Doesn't mean I was sleeping…" I trailed off. He just grunted.

"Look, Zuko, Kiminari! This looks promising!" Iroh said, pointing to a boat. Zuko glared at his uncle.

"Oh, what the heck." I said, pulling my arm out of Zuko's and throwing them up on the air. "Let's do it."

ZUKO

"Look at this one!" Kiminari laughed, pulling out a frowning mask. "Look's just like you!"

"Oh, shut up!" I snapped, crossing my arms and leaning against a shelf wile I watched her run around excitedly. I frowned slightly when I noticed she was usually happier off the ship.

"-water bender stole my priceless scroll." I head someone say behind me.

"Three kids, right?"

"Aye, and they had a flyin' lemur too." I stiffened. Slipping away unnoticed by Kiminari-who was busy looking at a monkey statue-I walked towards the men.

"Was one of these kid's a bald monk?" I asked. The two men turned at the sound of my voice. Pirates.

"What's it to you?" One of the snarled.

"I think we can help each other." I said. "I'm hunting the bald kid, help me find him, and you'll get your precious scroll back."

"Deal." He said, almost immediately. "The girl left this behind." He added, pulling a carved necklace out of his pocket. I snatched it from his hand, inspecting it.

"It's them." I smirked.

"Zuko?" I heard a girl say. "Darn, did he leave?" Kiminari mumbled more quietly.

"Another thing." I added to the men. "Don't tell her about this." I said, jerking my thumb towards the bookshelf she was behind. They nodded curtly as I rounded the corner, stashing the necklace in my armor.

"I'm still here." I said lazily, strolling over to her. "Just looking at a scroll." I added, in case she suspected something.

"Sure, sure. What do you want to do now?" She asked, not suspicious at all.

"You want to take a walk?" I asked, offering my arm.

"Alright." She beamed, latching her arm through mine. "Iroh, we're going on a walk." She called towards the back of the ship.

"Mhmm." Uncle said, picking up a monkey statue. I lead the unsuspecting girl off the boat, and we walked out towards the tree's. She glanced around, taking in the things around her in blissful innocence. We stumbled upon a field, a lone cherry blossom tree to the right. Kiminari set off running, doing a couple cartwheels and a finishing back hand spring before flopping down under the tree. I walked at a slow pace, catching up to her a couple of minutes latter. Her eyes were closed, her lips turned up gently into a soft smile. Her hands and legs were sprawled out in an snow angel shape. I smiled and sat down beside her head, leaning against the tree. Cherry blossoms drifted off the tree and a couple landed on her long brown hair. One landed on her nose, and she scrunched up her face. I pulled it off gently and her face smoother out again.

"Thank you…" She sighed. I felt horrible. She had just told me how much she treasured these moments of peace, and the next thing I do is run off and find a clue to the Avatar. The Avatar was top priority, but while I could, I would let Kiminari feel normal, if only for a little bit.

I know, I know, this one is short, but it seemed like a good place to end… R&R! (ß DO IT.)


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